Bijuralism and Harmonization: Genesis V
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Bijuralism and Harmonization: Genesis v A Word from the Minister The launch in 1997 of the first collection of studies, The Harmonization of Federal Legislation with Quebec Civil Law and Canadian Bijuralism, aroused keen interest in the legal community across Canada and even beyond our borders. That first publication, written by university professors and other experts in civil law, laid the groundwork for an in- depth reflection on the special nature of Canadian bijuralism and the relationship between civil law and federal legislation. Since then, within the Department of Justice, some excellent studies have resulted from the harmonization of federal legislation with Quebec civil law. The purpose of this publication is to share some of these studies. It is divided into nine booklets dealing with the background of the harmonization initiative and various aspects of the harmonization initiative. Also included is a text that presents a portrait of a legal harmonizer. Other publications will be added as the harmonization program progresses in order to ensure that knowledge related to legal harmonization is continually shared. I would like to thank my officials at the Department of Justice who strive to ensure each day that all Canadians have access to legislation that respects the traditions of common law and civil law . In January 2001, the Department of Justice launched its five-year Strategic Plan (2001-2005), which identifies the extension of the Harmonization program to the drafting of all federal legislation as a key part of our commitment to serving Canadians by making the justice system relevant and accessible. The Government of Canada’s commitment is reflected in Bill S-4, A First Act to harmonize federal law with the civil law of the Province of Quebec. Bill S-4 is a totally unique effort and concretely acknowledges the existence of the two great legal systems of our nation in a way that has not been done before in Canada or indeed anywhere in the world. It also supports Canada’s leading role in an increasingly globalized world. I sincerely hope that this work will be welcomed enthusiastically and that it will serve to highlight what we are : a bijural nation that is proud of the harmonious coexistence of common law and civil law. A. Anne McLellan Minister of Justice Canada vi Bijuralism and Harmonization: Genesis ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to all the authors who contributed to this publication. I would also like to thank those who participated in the translation, the transcription, the proofreading of texts, the review of texts and the presentation details of the booklet case and, namely, the editing service of the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada, for the page layout of the publication. Finally, I wish to thank particularly Louise Maguire Wellington, Mel Sater and Lina Tommasel, lawyers at the Civil Code Section, whose constant and attentive cooperation has brought this enterprise to a successful conclusion. Mario Dion Associate Deputy Minister Civil Law and Corporate Management Sector Department of Justice Canada Bijuralism and Harmonization: Genesis vii PREFACE Mario Dion, Associate Deputy Minister, Civil Law and Corporate Management, Department of Justice Canada As Associate Deputy Minister responsible for civil law, I am pleased to be associated with the publication of this collection and to have the privilege of writing its preface. In describing the background to this compilation, I propose to outline the history of the federal government's harmonization effort and the present harmonization program as well as summarize this second publication intended to share our knowledge, its purpose and content. First of all, I should note that Canada is the only G-8 nation where bijuralism is being achieved through a formal program organized by the national government. According to available sources, it would also appear to be the only country where national legislation is genuinely based on two separate systems of law. The division of powers provided for in the Constitution Act, 1867 grants jurisdiction over “property and civil rights” to the provinces, except where such matters are placed under federal jurisdiction, e.g. banking, marriage and divorce, bankruptcy and insolvency. Provincial jurisdiction over “property and civil rights” is the reason for the coexistence of two private law systems in Canada: civil law in Quebec and common law in the other Canadian provinces and territories. It must be borne in mind, however, that this process of bijuralism in federal legislation did not begin formally until the Civil Code reform, which was started in 1955 by the Government of Quebec and led to the coming into force of the Civil Code of Quebec on January 1, 1994. The substantive changes provided for in this reform led to the amendment of nearly 80% of the provisions of the Civil Code of Lower Canada. In response to this reform which affected one quarter of Canada’s population, the federal government introduced a program to coordinate federal legislation with the terms and concepts of the new Civil Code of Quebec. In 1993, it put in place a small team that was responsible for harmonizing federal legislation with the new concepts, notions and institutions of the Province of Quebec’s civil law system. Although a joint drafting policy has been in place since 1978, federal legislation and regulations remained incomplete since they did not reflect all four of Canada’s legal audiences: Francophone and Anglophone civil law jurists and Anglophone and Francophone common lawyers. The Civil Code Section was created in 1993 to, inter alia, harmonize federal laws with the new Civil Code of Quebec. The Section was shortly thereafter given the additional task of ensuring that federal legislation reflected Canada’s four legal audiences and was thereby fully bijural. This change came about in spite of the major budgetary cutmakes to the federal administration at that time. In 1999, the Program for the Harmonization of Federal Legislation with the Civil Law of the Province of Quebec was given permanent resources and at this time has a staff of 50 persons, including a number of jurists for whom the program represents an alternative to the traditional practice of law. The Program is being implemented by the Civil Code Section whose work consists mainly of legal research and the drafting of proposed legislative amendments to make federal legislation fully bijural. viii Bijuralism and Harmonization: Genesis To date, two bills have been tabled in Parliament. The first, Bill C-50, was introduced in the House of Commons on June 11, 1998 and did not receive royal assent before Parliament was prorogued in fall 1999. The bill was reintroduced on May 11, 2000, this time in the Senate (S-22), but met with the same fate when the federal election was called in October of that year. Bill S-4, which contains essentially the same content as the previous bills, was tabled in the Senate on January 31, 2001. We would like to thank the ministère de la Justice du Québec, the Barreau du Québec and the Chambre des notaires du Québec for their invaluable cooperation during the consultations that preceeded the tabling of these bills. Without their support, the work done under the Harmonization Program would have been considerably more difficult. It should be recalled that, since harmonization was, up until then, an unexplored field, the Civil Code Section had to develop new work methodology that would enable it to identify and correct bijuralism problems and ensure that the two legal systems were visibly and genuinely respected. It was thus through experiment and an original approach that the methodological procedures necessary to the harmonization work described in this collection were established. To increase awareness of Canadian bijuralism, the Department of Justice has adopted a promotional strategy that deals specifically with it. The strategy has five components, most notably coordinating bijuralism initiatives, training and integrating Canadian bijuralism into the Department, into the Public Service, and into the broader Canadian legal community. Through a range of activities and initiatives, a number of players are carrying out the strategy and contributing to the promotion of Canadian bijuralism as a competitive advantage for Canadian jurists in the context of globalization and the growth of supranational structures such as the European Union and the Organization of American States. Against this background, the Civil Code Section has established a program of research contracts for graduate law students and is publishing papers in legal journals. A number of these papers are included in this collection. The first collection published by the Civil Code Section consisted solely of studies on the harmonization of federal legislation and other aspects of Canadian bijuralism written by law professors and other legal experts for the Civil Code Section. That first collection was very well received by practising lawyers as well as judicial, academic and legal authorities. Since its publication, interest in Canadian bijuralism and the Harmonization Program of the federal Department of Justice has clearly been on the rise. Many presentations relating to bijuralism have been given on different occasions and in different circumstances including the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa which recently devoted a significant portion of an international conference to the issue. I am therefore very pleased to introduce